by Ali Vali
“Five years.”
She nodded. “Any kids?”
“A three-year-old boy.”
“Uh-huh.” She picked up another bug and studied it. “How would you feel making love to your wife and sharing lovers’ conversations, only to have a bunch of people you don’t know listen in?”
“I wouldn’t like it.”
“Good for you, that was the right answer. Your wife would be proud.” She glanced up at him again and stood. From the way his eyes widened, she was sure he was surprised that she was taller by a few inches. “Back to our talk about the master bedroom. For every one of these I find up there,” she picked up another one at random, “it’s going to cost you a little bit more.”
“How much?” His tears had started and ran down his face almost as if he didn’t notice they were falling.
“Lou, you know Emma,” Cain said, addressing him for the first time and making him step closer to Jimmy. “How much do you think her dignity is worth?”
“A lot more than five grand, boss.”
“You’re right, but let’s give our boy here a chance to redeem himself. How about it?” she asked Jimmy. “One simple question and, if you tell me the truth, we call it even.”
“I’ve been telling the truth.” If Jimmy intended to protest anymore, he clicked his mouth shut when he felt Lou’s hand on his shoulder. “What do you want to know?”
“How many of these are in our bedroom? Tell me the truth and I’ll wipe your slate clear of debt for the second floor. Lie and it’ll cost you fifty for every one I find.”
“I don’t know anything about this, and I don’t have that kind of money.” Jimmy’s tears fell faster when she put her hands on her desk, she leaned over, and took a deep breath.
“Does that answer fit the question I asked? Do I need to explain how much I dislike repeating myself? And asking you if I look stupid is repeating myself.” Cain finally let go of some of her control and started screaming. “So answer my damn question.”
“None,” he blurted. “There’s none up there.”
Cain pointed at Katlin and the room fell silent again as she went to test his answer. For ten minutes Cain drummed her fingers in her usual uneven beat on her desk, and Jimmy continued to wipe his nose on his sleeve. A moment later they heard a loud noise, followed quickly by another—the sound of a hammer going through a wall. Katlin finally made it down and added another six to Cain’s collection.
“You’re not a very honest man, Jimmy,” Cain said. She scraped her nail along what she assumed was the speaker, hoping the idiots listening in had the volume turned up. “You owe me another three hundred thousand.”
“Are those on?” Jimmy asked, suddenly sounding like the panic was really setting in and he’d had a brilliant idea. “Is anyone listening to this?”
“If you want to yell for help, go ahead,” she said, handing him one of the bugs. “I ripped them out, but I didn’t destroy them. I’m guessing, but I think destruction of government property is a crime, and that’s not what we’re about. And if you want to know if anyone’s listening, the van you passed on the way in here is probably full of your new friends witnessing the crack your ass is in right now. Only if they come barging in here like the calvary, they also have to admit these belong to them.”
She leaned over and spoke directly into the new ones Katlin had brought down. “They’re not going to do that for you, Jimmy, because they’re after the big fish.” She pointed her thumb toward her chest. “And they don’t care how many little guppies go down in their pursuit. You know what they’re hoping for out there while they’re crammed in the back of that van like cockroaches?”
“What?”
“That I, in a fit of anger, blow your brains out all over the new rug Emma picked out for me. Then, believe me, they’ll come running, but only if that happens.”
“Can I go home?”
“Just one more thing.” Cain walked around her desk and grabbed him by the collar.
“Please don’t hurt me.”
“I’m not going to hurt you. Like I said, I’m not a monster, Jimmy. Today was just about talking to you and getting our finances straight. See, you shouldn’t have believed what other people said about me instead of asking me directly.” She smiled at him and tightened her hold on his collar. “I want you to divide the pile in two.” She dragged him forward and pointed to her desk.
“What for?”
“You’re going to swallow anything on the right, so keep that in mind when you divide it.”
His hands shook as he stretched it toward the pile. “Are you sure they’re working?”
Cain crooked her finger at Katlin so she’d run the locator over her desk. When she did, the needle on the meter jumped completely to the right. “They’re all working, and the calvary isn’t coming. Think about that when you pay your federal taxes.”
Jimmy peered at her with bloodshot eyes and mucus draining out of his nose. “But why?”
“In situations like this, you’re either a pawn or a prized target. You’re under a lot of stress and obviously not paying very close attention, so I’ll repeat myself so it’ll sink in. They’re waiting for the target to kill the pawn. Then they’ll rush in here. Now I do believe we’ve established that’s not going to happen. You can cry and beg all you want, but they’ll just sit and wait for the gunshot.”
“Only the ones on the right?” he asked. He made his cut as if ready to get it over with.
“About twenty-five,” Cain said when he was done. “Not enough to get sick on but enough to show me you’re trying. One more thing—strip.”
“What?” he gazed up at her again. “Why?”
“Because I asked you to. Don’t make me ask again.” He took his shirt off first, displaying the tattoo Emma had described, then removed his pants and underwear. “Bon appetit.”
Jimmy started with the small ones first and gagged on the larger ones. He coughed and held his stomach on the last one but managed to get it down without throwing up on Cain’s desk. “Finished,” he said.
“Not quite.”
For the next part Shelby and the other agents on duty listened as Jimmy grunted and cried, but they couldn’t hear any other voices or noise. Cain must have written her directions.
“Shelby,” Claire said when the front door opened and a naked Jimmy stood there.
He ran across the street and tapped on their back window. When no one inside answered, he banged on the glass again until the van started swaying.
“Open up, you sons of bitches, or I swear I’ll break it,” he screamed.
Lionel was closest to the door and gave in before the neighbors called the police. “You’re okay now,” he told Jimmy, who was holding his hands in front of his genitals as if trying to preserve some of his dignity.
“Shut the fuck up and give me a map of where you put all your shit.”
Shelby tried to calm him down. “We can’t do that, Mr. Pitre. We went over this, remember?”
“I owe that crazy bitch a bunch of money unless you give me a map. If you don’t, who’s going to pay?”
“We’ll figure something out, but first we need to know what happened,” Shelby said.
“You know what you need to figure out? The quickest route to my house because I forgot my pants in there and I’m not going back. And once you drop me off, stay the hell away from me.” He got in and grabbed his stomach as soon as he was past Lionel. The momentum landed him in the middle of them. “Oh God,” he said in obvious pain.
After that, everyone but Jimmy dashed for the back and piled out into the street. Cain’s car stopped as it came through the gate and she rolled the window down.
“Problem?” Cain asked, smiling.
“You know damn well what our problem is,” Shelby said.
Cain craned her head to see in the van. “I really don’t know, but that,” she pointed to the van and the stains on their pants, “is the true meaning of listening to shit.”
Chap
ter Twenty-Nine
A few cars were parked in front of Jarvis’s house when Cain got back, but she assumed Remi and her family were there. Emma was waiting at the front door and took her hand and led her into the kitchen.
“Giving cooking lessons?” Cain said as a joke as she kissed the side of Emma’s neck. “Not that I don’t want to be alone with you, lass, but don’t we have company?”
“If you weren’t so big I’d spank you. We have company, but not all of it is who you were expecting. Nunzio Luca’s here and Remi’s keeping him company.”
“Did she ask you to call Ramon and Mano?”
“Not yet, and she didn’t ask me to leave, so I’ve been making small talk to help her out. Honey,” she held both of Cain’s hands, “this guy’s a creep. I didn’t think anyone could be a bigger ass than Juan, but after spending an hour with Nunzio, I have to admit I was wrong.”
“He’s not only a creep, he doesn’t know how to take directions. Today isn’t Tuesday.” She kissed Emma and turned to join Remi.
“Hey,” Emma said, stopping her. “You were gone longer than I thought. How’d it go with Jimmy?”
“He owes us some money, and after our talk,” Cain couldn’t help but laugh, “I’m sure he had an ass full of me and all those bugs we found.”
“You didn’t.”
“You’re right, I didn’t, but Jimmy sure did. After he was done I suggested he return them to their rightful owners. I’m sure they can be used again, but I hope they disinfect them first.”
Emma was laughing so hard she was hanging on the counter. “Thanks for putting that image in my head, and thanks for taking care of it. I feel like an idiot that I didn’t post someone over there.”
“When we finish the sweep, go ahead and call Jimmy back. He can work off his debt while Lou or one of the guys follows him around.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.” Emma moved closer and Cain met her halfway. “After today’s meeting, I’m sure he doesn’t want to go through another negotiation session with me. Let me go see what Nunzio wants, then let’s take the kids out for something fun.”
Nunzio stood and extended his hand when Cain joined them in the sunroom. He and Remi were sitting across from each other so Cain took the sofa between them. Remi looked like her anger was simmering just below the surface.
“I didn’t expect to see you for a couple more days, Nunzio. Did something change that I don’t know about?”
“Remi and I started without you, and I was explaining that I’m willing to shave three percent from the final price, but I need your answer by today. I’ve got some business out of town, and today is as long as I can stretch it.”
“I see.” Cain crossed her legs and glanced at Remi. “Talk about anything else?”
“I was just telling Remi what a lucky bitch she is to be seeing Dallas Montgomery. I’m a fan and sure as hell wouldn’t mind tapping into that.”
“Remi?” Cain said her name, but kept her eyes on Nunzio. “Since you all started without me, what’s our answer?”
“No deal even if he cuts the price in half.”
“That’s why I waited for you, Cain. I thought you might be the levelheaded one here.” Nunzio clapped his hands and laughed. “If I insulted you by mentioning your new playmate, I’m sorry, Remi. This is business, though, tell her, Cain.”
“I believe you’ve got our answer. Is there anything else?”
“You and I both know you need this.” Nunzio’s face twisted into a snarl and he pointed at Cain.
“Why would you think that?” Cain asked.
“Because the Bracatos were a pack of idiots, but you’re playing in a whole different ballgame now. The enemies you’re making are smarter, stronger, and more widespread than Big Gino. With the casino, you and the Jatibons have a fighting chance to keep what you’ve got now.” He stood up but didn’t take a step toward them when Simon stood as well. “In the coming weeks, if you were hoping for backup from Vinny, I wouldn’t count on that. He doesn’t have his father’s savvy, and the competition will eat him alive.”
“Simon, would you be so kind,” Cain said. Simon bowed her head slightly and walked Nunzio out.
When they were alone Remi’s head fell back and her hands clenched into fists. “I’m sorry if you wanted this, but I’m not having anything to do with that guy.”
“We’ll deal with this soon enough. Let’s talk about the favor you wanted to ask me.”
“Are you sure? We put a lot of time and effort into this.”
Cain took a deep breath and released it slowly. “We did, but there’ll be others. We need time to think over our next step, but that’s for later—tell me what’s on your mind.”
“It’s Dallas.” Remi lifted her head and leaned forward. “I asked my father to investigate her past to see where her life intersected with her manager Bob’s. This guy’s a total dick, and there’s some reason she hasn’t dumped him.”
“What did Ramon find?” Cain accepted the cigar Remi offered her and led her outside.
“Nothing yet. The trail stops at the beginning of her career. That’s when Dallas Montgomery was born, and she effectively buried whoever she really is.”
Cain accepted Remi’s clippers and lighter to prepare her cigar. After she blew out her first stream of smoke, she sat in one of the chairs around the pool. It would be awhile before anyone used it, but Jarvis’s people kept it pristine. “Until you find out, what are you concerned about?”
“Think about what you were doing this morning.” Remi lit her own cigar. “Since I doubt you’ve taken a sudden interest in decorating, you met with your contractor for some other reason. You and I both know there’s more than one way for these bastards to get in.”
“And because you’re guessing she’s some sort of cop, you’re going to just let her go?”
“Please tell me this isn’t one of those keep-your-enemies-closer lectures?” Remi joked. “Isn’t that what you’d do?”
“Barney Kyle turned, even if it was temporarily, the one person in my life who should’ve been rock solid. Because he was successful I missed my wife, the birth of my daughter, and a very long time period that I’ll never get back.” Cain remembered vividly how she felt then. “I could’ve been sure that she wouldn’t betray me again by not letting her back into my life, but I would’ve missed out on what I need to make all this worthwhile.”
“This is different. Dallas isn’t Emma.”
“I’ll work on this personally, and if I find something, I won’t tell anybody but you. Until then if you don’t give a shit about her, don’t let this eat away at you, but if you do, then don’t be afraid to move forward.”
“And if she turns out to be a cop?”
Hannah came running across the yard, and Cain stood and grabbed her before she got within twenty feet of the pool. “I’ll give you the same advice I gave Muriel.” She tossed Hannah into the air, loving the squeal it always produced. “Don’t talk in your sleep.”
*
Muriel sat in the famous piano bar in Pat O’Brien’s on Bourbon Street, having a scotch and listening to the woman performing. It was a tourist destination, proved by the number of folks with a multitude of different accents sitting nearby, but the place filled up every night because the musicians were so good. Cain had told her to get away from everything, and this was as much of an escape as she was willing to agree to.
As she brought her glass up, one of Vincent Carlotti’s men joined her and put his beer down. Almost everyone in the room was singing the refrain from “American Pie” when he asked her to go outside to the patio.
“The boss is keeping an eye on Vinny and his business,” the guy said as a start.
“So are Cain and Remi. Does he have a problem with something?” Muriel leaned against the brick wall at the back of the open space.
“More like he wanted to give you guys a heads-up. Vincent’s been talking to Hector Delarosa.”
“The Columbian Hector Dela
rosa?” Muriel asked.
“That’s the one. He called tonight so Mr. Carlotti would be watching for a particular plane soon.”
Muriel put her hand up to keep the waitress away. “Before you go on, tell me why you’re not talking to Cain.”
“I did. Cain told me where I could probably find you. You can call her if you want, but she said for you to take care of it.”
She closed her eyes and shook her head. The guy standing before her represented Cain’s way of giving her what she’d asked for. If she said no, that would’ve been acceptable too. Her role had been defined for so long, not only with her family but with the others as well, that no one would’ve thought less of her for keeping to her place.
“That’s okay. Just tell me,” Muriel said.
“When people like Hector need something taken care of, especially in the States, they use one guy. Hector said his name is Jorge Cristo, and according to Hector, he’s a killing machine.”
“When’s he get here?” Muriel asked. The couple sitting closest to them left and Muriel sat down.
“That’s the easy part—this Friday, AeroMexico’s last flight is coming in from Mexico City.” He cocked his bottle back and drained the last of his drink. “What we need to figure out before then is who his target is and who hired him.”
“That we do, since it sounds like he sure as hell isn’t coming for the seafood. Tell Vincent thanks for the information.” The guy stood up and shook hands with her. “Did Delarosa describe him?”
“Mr. Cristo likes to fly AeroMexico out of Mexico City because usually only about ten Americans are on the flight.”
Muriel put her hands up and shrugged. “And?”
“The rest of the deplaning passengers are Mexican and other South Americans. It’s a good way to blend in.”
“I take it Hector didn’t give him up completely.”
“Hector sees potential in dealing with Vinny because of his father and his friends, but no, he didn’t give us what you’re asking. Down the line he might have a problem or two he needs solved. He burns Jorge, and who’s he going to call to fix it?”